The Senedd will once again be lit
tonight in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s flag as a sign of
solidarity with Ukraine and its people.
Senedd CymruCopyright: Senedd Cymru
NHS dentistry: 'constituents having to go to Scotland'
Conservative MS for Clwyd West, Darren Millar expresses concerns about access to NHS dentistry. "I have constituents having to go to Scotland in order to receive their NHS dental treatment because they cannot register in my constituency. There's one single practice in my constituency that allows people to add their names to a list to register for NHS dentistry, and you will be waiting for two years in order to get off that list and into that dental practice."
The first minister replies, "the NICE requirements, since 2004, is that people should never be called back twice a year for a check-up when there's no clinical reason for doing so".
He says the new contract "substitutes the calling back of people for routine check-ups when there's no clinical case for doing so with services for new patients. And while I appreciate that it's still challenging in some parts of Wales for patients to be able to register, actually, Betsi Cadwaladr has the highest number of new patients seen in the last 10 months of any health board in Wales."
BBCCopyright: BBC
Mark DrakefordImage caption: Mark Drakeford
Heating public swimming pools
Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds expresses concerns about the future of public swimming pools due to energy costs.
"Many of us, I'm sure, learnt to swim in swimming pools, literally giving us a life-saving skill, and we know that swimming pools are essential for mental health, physical health and particularly for people with disabilities."
She calls for exploring innovative solutions, and refers to a report that the heat generated by a washing-machine-sized data centre is being used to heat a Devon public swimming pool.
The computers inside the white box are surrounded by oil to capture the heat - enough to heat the pool to about 30C 60% of the time, saving Exmouth Leisure Centre thousands of pounds.
The first minister replies, "I know that the leisure sector, not just in Wales, but across the border as well, is disappointed that swimming pools have been excluded for help under the UK government's new energy bill discount scheme. If you're running a museum, you will get help from that scheme, but if you're running an energy-intensive place like a leisure centre, particularly a swimming pool, then you won't be getting any help at all. That seems perverse, doesn't it, given that we know that the most expensive part of any leisure centre is the swimming pool itself."
BBCCopyright: BBC
Jane DoddsImage caption: Jane Dodds
HS2 'robbing Wales of £5 billion'
Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price begins by associating himself with the earlier comments about the gas explosion.
"Our thoughts are all with the family in Morriston who lost loved ones in the terrible accident yesterday and everyone else who was affected by it," he says.
Mr Price asks whether Mr Drakeford would call on Keir Starmer to commit to Wales getting a "fair share" of HS2 funding if a Labour government were elected.
He says, "the UK government has again and again refused to reclassify HS2 as an England-only project, robbing Wales of £5 billion in Barnett consequentials that could be transformative of our public transport infrastructure. That's even though the UK government's own analysis shows that it's more likely to damage Wales than to provide any benefit. Will you be calling on any future Labour administration to rectify that mistake?"
The first minister replies, "I believe it's common ground across all parties on the floor of the Senedd that HS2 has been wrongly classified by the UK government, that it should be classified on the basis, as in Scotland, that there are Barnett consequentials. That is the policy of this government. I've articulated it many times before."
HS2Copyright: HS2
BBCCopyright: BBC
Adam PriceImage caption: Adam Price
'Extremely militant'
Andrew RT Davies refers to a Welsh Government minister calling a nursing union "extremely militant" over pay negotiations in a secret recording of a Labour party meeting.
In a recording obtained by the Llanelli Herald, Lee Waters said the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is "determined to have a fight and aren't seriously committed to negotiate."
Mr Davies says Mr Waters should "apologise for those remarks that have caused upset to nurses within the profession, who do not want to be on strike, who are not a militant organisation and aren't up for the fight".
He says "they just want to get on with the job of looking after the patients who they care so passionately about".
Mark Drakeford says "I'm first minister, not a commentator on what other people say. What I can do is to be clear about the Welsh Government's position: we approach all industrial matters as a government on the basis of social partnership. The RCN is a longstanding and valued member of the social partnership arrangements we have in health".
BBCCopyright: BBC
Andrew RT DaviesImage caption: Andrew RT Davies
Gas explosion
The first minister joins Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, in thanking the emergency services for their response to the suspected gas explosion at a house in Swansea.
Mr Davies says they had to deal with "what must have been an apocalyptic scene when they arrived".
Both leaders express sympathy with all those affected.
The first minister says, "It must have been a hugely frightening experience for others who live in that locality, and the leader of the opposition is right, isn't he? We expect our emergency services to run towards sources of danger that other people will be running away from, and they are immensely brave, and the response they mounted yesterday was, thankfully, effective.
"Of course, our thoughts are with the family of the particular individual who lost their life, while we are glad to see the recovery of others caught up in that very frightening incident."
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
One property was completely flattened in the explosionImage caption: One property was completely flattened in the explosion
Roads review
Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru MS for Ynys Môn, questions
the Welsh Government's response to the roads
review.
He calls for a "genuine review" of the decision not to go ahead with the current plans for a third bridge over the Menai to Anglesey, looking again "at the original needs for the crossing, and how to deliver them; the need to improve safety; opportunities for active travel; the economic boost that comes from having a more resilient crossing for delivering on the free port, for example".
The first minister replies that Wylfa B was a key consideration when those plans were first announced, and the "context has fundamentally changed because everything that was on the table with Wylfa B isn’t there now".
He adds, "we want to see options for a crossing of the Menai in a way that helps us in our effort to create a shift in the way in which people currently travel. We’ve asked Lord Burns and the commission looking into transport in north Wales to see how we can do that and to make recommendations to government on that basis."
Last week, Labour politicians, including the first minister, voted
for a Senedd motion criticising their own roads review.
The motion, which regretted the review's "lack of
engagement" with the public, passed in a vote on Wednesday evening.
The expert review panel, led by transport consultant Lynn
Sloman, assessed 59 road projects and made recommendations on which projects to
proceed with, which to abandon and which to reconsider in a different form.
Of these, 15 will go ahead, but all the rest have been rejected
or will be substantially revised.
The building projects were scrapped over climate change
concerns.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
The current plans for a third bridge over the Menai to Anglesey were scrapped in the recent announcementImage caption: The current plans for a third bridge over the Menai to Anglesey were scrapped in the recent announcement
LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales
The Llywydd (presiding
officer) Elin Jones conducts a ballot to determine the names of members who may
table questions to the first minister and Welsh ministers. Each member may
enter their name into a ballot.
Conservative Laura Anne Jones asks what
consideration did the Welsh Government give to the Scottish Gender Recognition
Reform Bill when creating the LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales.
Making it simpler for someone to legally change their gender is
part of proposals unveiled by the Welsh Government last month.
The first minister replies that the commitment is "made in Wales, not in Scotland".
The UK government has said it would block similar legislation
put forward by the Scottish government.
Laura Anne Jones says, "Did you learn nothing from the debacle in Scotland? This move to copy Scotland would only serve to deny biological fact, and appease a small minority in your party. Men and women up and down the country are genuinely concerned with your blinkered vision on this, and are also concerned by the shadow secretary of state's sharing images directly from your Welsh Labour conference, inciting hate against those standing up for women and girls."
The first minister replies, "transgender people who are going through the process to change their legal sex deserve our respect, support and understanding. That is what the Conservative Secretary of State for Scotland said on the floor of the House of Commons when introducing the government's proposal to block the gender recognition Act in Scotland. I think the Member could do very well to take what the Secretary of State for Scotland said to heart, and think about what she has said on the floor of the Senedd this afternoon through that lens".
Currently the Senedd cannot make its own gender recognition law. It would be up to the UK government to hand over the powers from
Westminster, but Conservative ministers in London have no plans to do so.
The reforms have been highly controversial in Scotland, with
several SNP backbenchers voting against the bill and Ash Regan quitting as
community safety minister in protest.
The bill in Scotland would lower the age that people can apply
for a gender recognition certificate (GRC) - a document confirming a change of
someone's legal sex - from 18 to 16.
It would also remove the need for a medical diagnosis of gender
dysphoria, with applicants only needing to have lived as their acquired sex for
three months rather than two years - or six months if they are aged 16 or 17.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
The Welsh government has unveiled its new LGBTQ+ Action Plan for WalesImage caption: The Welsh government has unveiled its new LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
The Scottish government argues that the current process is too difficult and invasiveImage caption: The Scottish government argues that the current process is too difficult and invasive
Croeso
Hello and welcome
to our live coverage of the ninth session of First Minister's Questions in
2023.
The meeting is held
in a hybrid format, with some members in the Siambr (Senedd chamber) and others
joining by video-conference.
You
can click on the play button above to watch the proceedings.
Live Reporting
Alun Jones
All times stated are UK
Senedd CymruCopyright: Senedd Cymru 
BBCCopyright: BBC Mark DrakefordImage caption: Mark Drakeford 
BBCCopyright: BBC Jane DoddsImage caption: Jane Dodds 
HS2Copyright: HS2 
BBCCopyright: BBC Adam PriceImage caption: Adam Price 
BBCCopyright: BBC Andrew RT DaviesImage caption: Andrew RT Davies 
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media One property was completely flattened in the explosionImage caption: One property was completely flattened in the explosion 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images The current plans for a third bridge over the Menai to Anglesey were scrapped in the recent announcementImage caption: The current plans for a third bridge over the Menai to Anglesey were scrapped in the recent announcement 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images The Welsh government has unveiled its new LGBTQ+ Action Plan for WalesImage caption: The Welsh government has unveiled its new LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales 
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media The Scottish government argues that the current process is too difficult and invasiveImage caption: The Scottish government argues that the current process is too difficult and invasive
Latest PostHwyl fawr
The ninth FMQs of 2023 comes to a close.
Thanks for following - join us again next week.
The Senedd will once again be lit tonight in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s flag as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine and its people.
NHS dentistry: 'constituents having to go to Scotland'
Conservative MS for Clwyd West, Darren Millar expresses concerns about access to NHS dentistry. "I have constituents having to go to Scotland in order to receive their NHS dental treatment because they cannot register in my constituency. There's one single practice in my constituency that allows people to add their names to a list to register for NHS dentistry, and you will be waiting for two years in order to get off that list and into that dental practice."
The first minister replies, "the NICE requirements, since 2004, is that people should never be called back twice a year for a check-up when there's no clinical reason for doing so".
He says the new contract "substitutes the calling back of people for routine check-ups when there's no clinical case for doing so with services for new patients. And while I appreciate that it's still challenging in some parts of Wales for patients to be able to register, actually, Betsi Cadwaladr has the highest number of new patients seen in the last 10 months of any health board in Wales."
Heating public swimming pools
Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds expresses concerns about the future of public swimming pools due to energy costs.
"Many of us, I'm sure, learnt to swim in swimming pools, literally giving us a life-saving skill, and we know that swimming pools are essential for mental health, physical health and particularly for people with disabilities."
She calls for exploring innovative solutions, and refers to a report that the heat generated by a washing-machine-sized data centre is being used to heat a Devon public swimming pool.
The computers inside the white box are surrounded by oil to capture the heat - enough to heat the pool to about 30C 60% of the time, saving Exmouth Leisure Centre thousands of pounds.
The first minister replies, "I know that the leisure sector, not just in Wales, but across the border as well, is disappointed that swimming pools have been excluded for help under the UK government's new energy bill discount scheme. If you're running a museum, you will get help from that scheme, but if you're running an energy-intensive place like a leisure centre, particularly a swimming pool, then you won't be getting any help at all. That seems perverse, doesn't it, given that we know that the most expensive part of any leisure centre is the swimming pool itself."
HS2 'robbing Wales of £5 billion'
Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price begins by associating himself with the earlier comments about the gas explosion. "Our thoughts are all with the family in Morriston who lost loved ones in the terrible accident yesterday and everyone else who was affected by it," he says.
Mr Price asks whether Mr Drakeford would call on Keir Starmer to commit to Wales getting a "fair share" of HS2 funding if a Labour government were elected.
He says, "the UK government has again and again refused to reclassify HS2 as an England-only project, robbing Wales of £5 billion in Barnett consequentials that could be transformative of our public transport infrastructure. That's even though the UK government's own analysis shows that it's more likely to damage Wales than to provide any benefit. Will you be calling on any future Labour administration to rectify that mistake?"
The first minister replies, "I believe it's common ground across all parties on the floor of the Senedd that HS2 has been wrongly classified by the UK government, that it should be classified on the basis, as in Scotland, that there are Barnett consequentials. That is the policy of this government. I've articulated it many times before."
'Extremely militant'
Andrew RT Davies refers to a Welsh Government minister calling a nursing union "extremely militant" over pay negotiations in a secret recording of a Labour party meeting.
In a recording obtained by the Llanelli Herald, Lee Waters said the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is "determined to have a fight and aren't seriously committed to negotiate."
Mr Davies says Mr Waters should "apologise for those remarks that have caused upset to nurses within the profession, who do not want to be on strike, who are not a militant organisation and aren't up for the fight".
He says "they just want to get on with the job of looking after the patients who they care so passionately about".
Mark Drakeford says "I'm first minister, not a commentator on what other people say. What I can do is to be clear about the Welsh Government's position: we approach all industrial matters as a government on the basis of social partnership. The RCN is a longstanding and valued member of the social partnership arrangements we have in health".
Gas explosion
The first minister joins Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, in thanking the emergency services for their response to the suspected gas explosion at a house in Swansea.
Mr Davies says they had to deal with "what must have been an apocalyptic scene when they arrived".
Both leaders express sympathy with all those affected.
The first minister says, "It must have been a hugely frightening experience for others who live in that locality, and the leader of the opposition is right, isn't he? We expect our emergency services to run towards sources of danger that other people will be running away from, and they are immensely brave, and the response they mounted yesterday was, thankfully, effective.
"Of course, our thoughts are with the family of the particular individual who lost their life, while we are glad to see the recovery of others caught up in that very frightening incident."
Roads review
Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru MS for Ynys Môn, questions the Welsh Government's response to the roads review.
He calls for a "genuine review" of the decision not to go ahead with the current plans for a third bridge over the Menai to Anglesey, looking again "at the original needs for the crossing, and how to deliver them; the need to improve safety; opportunities for active travel; the economic boost that comes from having a more resilient crossing for delivering on the free port, for example".
The first minister replies that Wylfa B was a key consideration when those plans were first announced, and the "context has fundamentally changed because everything that was on the table with Wylfa B isn’t there now".
He adds, "we want to see options for a crossing of the Menai in a way that helps us in our effort to create a shift in the way in which people currently travel. We’ve asked Lord Burns and the commission looking into transport in north Wales to see how we can do that and to make recommendations to government on that basis."
Last week, Labour politicians, including the first minister, voted for a Senedd motion criticising their own roads review.
The motion, which regretted the review's "lack of engagement" with the public, passed in a vote on Wednesday evening.
The expert review panel, led by transport consultant Lynn Sloman, assessed 59 road projects and made recommendations on which projects to proceed with, which to abandon and which to reconsider in a different form.
Of these, 15 will go ahead, but all the rest have been rejected or will be substantially revised.
The building projects were scrapped over climate change concerns.
LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales
The Llywydd (presiding officer) Elin Jones conducts a ballot to determine the names of members who may table questions to the first minister and Welsh ministers. Each member may enter their name into a ballot.
Conservative Laura Anne Jones asks what consideration did the Welsh Government give to the Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill when creating the LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales.
Making it simpler for someone to legally change their gender is part of proposals unveiled by the Welsh Government last month.
The first minister replies that the commitment is "made in Wales, not in Scotland".
The UK government has said it would block similar legislation put forward by the Scottish government.
Laura Anne Jones says, "Did you learn nothing from the debacle in Scotland? This move to copy Scotland would only serve to deny biological fact, and appease a small minority in your party. Men and women up and down the country are genuinely concerned with your blinkered vision on this, and are also concerned by the shadow secretary of state's sharing images directly from your Welsh Labour conference, inciting hate against those standing up for women and girls."
The first minister replies, "transgender people who are going through the process to change their legal sex deserve our respect, support and understanding. That is what the Conservative Secretary of State for Scotland said on the floor of the House of Commons when introducing the government's proposal to block the gender recognition Act in Scotland. I think the Member could do very well to take what the Secretary of State for Scotland said to heart, and think about what she has said on the floor of the Senedd this afternoon through that lens".
Currently the Senedd cannot make its own gender recognition law. It would be up to the UK government to hand over the powers from Westminster, but Conservative ministers in London have no plans to do so.
The reforms have been highly controversial in Scotland, with several SNP backbenchers voting against the bill and Ash Regan quitting as community safety minister in protest.
The bill in Scotland would lower the age that people can apply for a gender recognition certificate (GRC) - a document confirming a change of someone's legal sex - from 18 to 16.
It would also remove the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, with applicants only needing to have lived as their acquired sex for three months rather than two years - or six months if they are aged 16 or 17.
Croeso
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the ninth session of First Minister's Questions in 2023.
The meeting is held in a hybrid format, with some members in the Siambr (Senedd chamber) and others joining by video-conference.
You can click on the play button above to watch the proceedings.